High Court Considers Spaziano

'Free Form' Appeal Requests New Trial

September 8, 1995|By Michael Griffin Tallahassee Bureau Chief

TALLAHASSEE — A lawyer for Joseph ''Crazy Joe'' Spaziano took his client's claim of innocence to the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday in perhaps the last appeal for the biker convicted of killing an Orlando woman.

The court did not rule immediately but is expected to act soon - Spaziano, 49, is scheduled to die in the electric chair on Sept. 21.

In unusual oral arguments for what Justice Harry Lee Anstead described as a ''free form'' appeal, Spaziano's attorney asked the court to order a new trial since a key witness in the 1976 trial has changed his story.

''Mr. Spaziano is innocent, he's actually innocent and I want to be very clear on that,'' Vermont law professor Michael Mello told the seven justices. ''If I had the opportunity to prove Mr. Spaziano's innocence before a jury, he would be acquitted.''

Assistant Attorney General Margene Roper argued that Spaziano had his chances during 19 years of appeals, including four treks to the state Supreme Court, two appearances before the U.S. Supreme Court and two requests for clemency from the governor.

Gov. Lawton Chiles rejected the second clemency bid two weeks ago and signed Spaziano's fifth death warrant.

''He is out of claims and clemency is the proper proceeding,'' Roper said. ''He went that route and quarrels with the result so now he comes here.''

Both attorneys came under sharp challenges by justices.

Anstead told Mello that his appeal does not specifically argue any discernible point of law and that it did not address two basic criteria: Is the new evidence he is presenting compelling enough to alter the original verdict, and why the new evidence was not brought forth sooner?

Justice Ben Overton asked Mello why his 1,500-page appeal, which includes newspaper clippings and folk song lyrics, did not include a written statement from Anthony DiLisio, who now denies that Spaziano showed him the body of 18-year-old Laura Harberts at an Altamonte Springs dump in 1973.

''You have not filed a statement from DiLisio that his testimony is false,'' Overton said. ''You have not filed anything in this record that says 'I swear,' an oath by DiLisio.''

Mello said DiLisio had refused to sign such an affidavit and ''he is difficult to deal with.''

Mello later told reporters that DiLisio ''doesn't like to sign things'' and was afraid he could be charged with perjury if he signed an affidavit.

But Kelli McGraw, DiLisio's attorney in Pensacola, said her client always has been willing to sign an affidavit and offered it to Mello months ago. She said he never got back to her.

''We're scrambling to get Tony now,'' McGraw said Thursday. ''He swears what he says now is true and he's willing to sign a sworn, notarized affidavit.''